


Hear Those Magic Reindeer Click

by hariboo



Category: Psy-Changeling - Nalini Singh
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-19
Updated: 2014-12-19
Packaged: 2018-03-02 06:11:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2802407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hariboo/pseuds/hariboo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What do you mean you don’t celebrate Christmas?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hear Those Magic Reindeer Click

**Author's Note:**

  * For [icannotlivewithoutmysoul](https://archiveofourown.org/users/icannotlivewithoutmysoul/gifts).



“What do you mean you don’t celebrate Christmas?”

Before, Brenna thought, the Psy tried to suck the soul out of their race. Now, she’s sure. She looks over her shoulder, incredulous, but Judd only shrugs and gently nudges her face so she’s facing the front again. His finger press down on the knots on her neck with the perfect amount of pressure. Brenna groans. Still, she will not be distracted.

“Never? Not once.”

“You knew this. Psy don’t celebrate organised holidays. Or any day.”

And don’t think she doesn’t have opinions about this. She once quietly asked Walker about Judd’s birthday and how birthdays work in the Net. The answer had been distressing and then Walker hinted how birthdays worked if you were an Arrow. Distressing doesn't even being to cover what she felt then.

Brenna frowns, tipping her head forward as Judd’s fingers smooth up the line of her spine. Her work on F.A.S.T has been taking it’s toll on her. Not to mention the late night, not so legal hacking she’s been doing for the Den. She drags her fingers across the water of the tub.

“But it’s _Christmas_ ,” she says, moans, really. Judd’s fingers are magic. 

“If it makes you feel better I did help Marlee, Sienna, and Toby with their tree this past December. Marlee is a fan of the holiday. So are Toby and Sienna.”

“But you’re not…”

And she’s not insulted. She’s not. It’s not like he knows that Christmas is her favourite time of year. She hasn’t told him yet. 

She understands every day more and more of what Judd’s life must have been like in the Net, as an Arrow; she understands alright. She also hates it. Up until recently he’s also kept himself very removed from most of the ongoings of the Den. And come to think of it, she’s sure she didn’t see him at the Christmas party last year, which he should have been. The Laurens had been around then. She remembers Marlee and Ben chasing each other around. She even remembers Walker sticking to the edges of the party, his sharp eyes on the kids, but she doesn’t remember Judd there. 

Judd leans forward and presses his lips against the base of her neck. It’s not a kiss, not yet, just his lips on her skin. Brenna shivers and leans back into him. His arms go around her waist. The bathroom is slowly filling with steam. Brenna adores this new habit of baths together.

She pulls his arms tighter around her. He’s still careful, always giving her room to move away, but she never feels caged in by him. 

“I’ve never had much to celebrate before.”

“Judd,” she sighs, threading their fingers together as she settles against his chest. He nuzzles her ear with his nose. Brenna grins. He’s picked more wolf habits than he knows. 

“We can celebrate if you like,” he says, and she loves him for it. But.

“Mhmm.” Brenna shifts in his lap, moves to straddle him. _Yeah, baby_. The water laps around them. She rests her hand on his shoulder, his arms circle her waist. She leans forward and presses a kiss to his lips. He opens his mouth for her, letting her direct the speed of the kiss. She feels his hands drift down from her waist to cup the curve of her ass and pull her closer. Brenna wiggles, opening her legs wider, so she can feel him against her folds as they slide closer together. 

One hand moves up to cup her breast and pinch her nipple as the rock together. Brenna groans low, tilting her head back slightly to look at him. Judd looks back at her. His gorgeous brown eyes never look away as he strokes her and guides himself in. She cups his face and kisses him again. 

It’s unrushed, their movements almost lazy, and Brenna feels his Tk gently rocking them, teasing her clit as the tub constricts their movements. He holds her close, licking into her mouth, swallowing her moans and sighs. She feels warm, safe, content, and loved. So loved. _I love you, I love you, I love you_ echoes in her head as the rock together to the point she’s not even sure which of them is saying it. Her orgasm builds so slow and gentle it just feels like a gentle rise of pleasure followed by his. She sighs as she leans back in his arms, their bodies damp in the tub, but the water is gone. 

She grins. She really does love these new bathing together habits.

“Hmmm, that was nice.” She feels loose limbed and relaxed in way she hasn’t in weeks. Her wolf is practically asleep, tongue lolling out and everything. She adores her mate so much. Letting her weight fall completely onto Judd, knowing he can more than handle it, she kisses his neck. 

Judd smirks, one hand stroking up and down her back, before standing all the while keeping a hold on her with his Tk. 

He’s such a show off, Brenna thinks. Yelps, when she feels a pinch on her butt. 

“I heard that,” he says, and she laughs. Sometimes she forgets how much she projects to him after sex. She turns her head and nuzzles his chin. “Sorry, honey-pie.”

He laughs, a sound she once never dreamed to drag out him and moves them to their futon. Laying there, she sighs, content, happy. Her beautiful stretches out besides her, resting his head on her breasts. She automatically starts playing with his hair and soon he’s asleep. 

Brenna stays up for a couple more seconds, thinking. 

_We can celebrate if you like._

Judd meant that in the most supportive and loving way possible, but it’s picking at her. 

_If you like._

Judd would do anything for her, but he forgets she’d do anything for him too. And she doesn’t want everything in their relationship to be based on what she needs, wants, or like. It’s not like he’s a doormat, far from it, but some things he just doesn’t feel he deserves. Some things the Psy and the Council prevented him from learning if he liked. 

She hates them from stealing his choices away. 

From making him not want anything for himself. 

Well, that’s just not going work for her. 

She looks down at her mate, at how his lashes fan over his cheeks, and his mouth presses against the skin over her heart. Gently, she skims her hands over his hair, smiling as he shifts closer to her. 

-

Marlee is the easiest to find and convince. 

It takes one sentence: 

“I wanna to surprise your uncle for Christmas.”

Marlee pretty much squeals and jumps into Brenna’s arms. Brenna isn’t terribly tall and Marlee pretty much reaches her chin so they almost knock heads as Marlee makes Brenna stumble as they hug. Brenna thanks wolf strength because Marlee is a bundle of engery and cheer and she nods happily into Brenna’s shoulder. 

“Yes! That’s so romantic! And so cute! Do you want me to make to sugar cookies? They’re my favourite and I'm getting really good at them! Dad and Uncle Judd don’t eat as many sweets as me, Sinna or Toby, but they have some--”

Brenna laughs and helps steady Marlee as she wraps an arm around the young girl’s shoulder. “That sounds great, Marlee, sweetie. I was actually thinking you could get your dad to keep Judd busy for a couple hours while we set up the tree in the rooms. Maybe have a family dinner?”

Marlee hugs Brenna so tight, bouncing on her heels, and Brenna is sure that if the girl was wolf she would have just shifted in delight. 

-

Toby comes to her when she’s working. He knocks politely at her door and waits patiently as she tells him to wait one second as she reworks the wiring in her prototype. As she finishes up, she watches Toby move as she waves him over and he slides into the seat next to her. He half spins the chair side to side for a couple seconds before stops and straightens his shoulders. 

“I asked Uncle Walker about what he and Uncle Judd want for Christmas, but always say they don’t need anything. Marlee and Sinna always get them some silly and they say they like anything they give them, but I was hoping you could help me? And, ahem, I could help you too!”

Brenna bites back her smile. 

Toby looks like he’s trying with all his being not to spin in the chair. 

Brenna leans forward and ruffles his hair. He tries so hard to be so grown up. He’s adorable. She’s so happy he’s part of her family now. She always did want a little brother. 

His shoulders drop a little and he smiles, small and sincere, and flushes lightly under her hand. 

“They do seem super hard to shop for, don’t they?” Brenna says, leaning back in her chair.

Toby nods. “So hard. Marlee made Uncle Walter a scarf last year with help from Ava. It was lumpy but he wore it all day.”

And that gives Brenna and idea. 

She stand and holds out her hand for Toby. The kids, she’s seen, are a lot easier with skin privileges than their older family members, but she always notices how Toby and Marlee light up a little bit more when someone extends a hand to them. All pups have an easier way with touching, playing, but she’s heard that it was harder for the youngest two Psy in the Den. Marlee being just that much younger smoothed her way with her nature and smile, but Toby, so careful and sweet, so broken over his mother’s death still held himself a little back. A little scared that maybe what he gave wouldn’t be accepted. Judd mentioned it once, his worry and love for his family so deep and vast. 

Brenna promised herself to treat his family as her, because they were now. Family and Pack. 

Toby takes her hand gingerly, his sky night eyes flaring gently, and she tugs him up. 

“Come on, Tee, you just gave me an idea on what to get those two. Wanna go shopping with me?”

“Shopping?” Toby sounds like Drew and Riley always did when she dragged them to the mall. She thinks back to the time Riley took her shopping for her first bra. Her darling big brother practically died. She’s still sure he doesn't know that Indigo and her mother had taken her about two weeks before he did, but Indigo had insisted Brenna make him sweat a little. 

Toby tilts his head at her. “You’re happy.”

Brenna grins, “Yeah, I am.” She looks at him. “You picked that up?”

Toby flushes deeper. “Um, sorry, I’m not-- Sascha says I should respect people’s emotions but sometimes--”

“It’s fine, Toby,” she says, leading the out of her workspace and locking up. “I was just wondering how that worked. I know a bit from what Sascha has told but it’s she’s like my doctor.” She makes a face and Toby giggles. The he purses his lips like he's really thinking about it. He looks like his sister. Brenna's wolf wants to cuddle and protect him. _Family_ , it thinks. Brenna agrees. 

“It’s like smells, I guess, for changeling. You can tell what something is feeling a bit from smells, right?”

Brenna nods. 

“It’s like that a bit, for Empaths, I guess. It’s the only analogy I could come up with. Just an extra sense.”

“So, to you I "smell" happy.”

She does the quotation marks.

He ducks his head, shrugs. “I guess. I can ignore it but sometimes it sneaks in.”

Brenna nudges him and waits until he meets her eyes. “Cool.”

He grins. 

“So what are we buying?”

“You’ll see, little man. You’ll see.”

-

“I hear you’re giving your mate his own personal Christmas?”

Brenna looks up and see hers Alpha. Hawke is barefoot and sometimes she wonders if he even owns shoes, except she knows he does. He owns at least two pairs. She’s just finishing her work out and looks like he’s come from a run. 

She rolls her eyes and prays he doesn’t run into Sienna looking like that. 

“I’m giving him his first Christmas.”

“Bren, darling, you know they’ve lived her for two years.”

“Yes, Hawke, _darling_ , but he never embraced the holiday. You know him and Walker, half, if not all, the stuff they did this past year was for those kids and Sienna. They barely do anything for themselves, it’s that damn Net mentality.” She scowls and Hawke throws up a hand, flat and open, facing towards her. Brenna punches it. Lands a couple as he lets her throw out some of her left over frustration in a light spar. It feels good. She’s learned she doesn't hate the Psy, doesn’t hate the Net, but she hates the Council, _hates_ what they’ve wrought. What monsters they hide. What souls they try to destroy. 

“You know he’s never celebrated a birthday either? Not him, Walker, or Sienna. Not in years. This year I think was Sienna's first birthday with the family in a while, but Judd? His passed by and I don't think anyone noticed except Walker.”

Hawke’s brow raises. Brenna breathes out. 

“I was worried he wouldn’t even know his.”

“Brenna…”

“Walker knows it, remembers it, so Judd does, but I think about-- I just want him to have nice memories. I want him to look forward to things, even silly things, commercialised holidays.”

“Eggnog, mistletoe, presents?”

“Yes!” she smirks, "Especially the mistletoe."

Hawke smiles. “He’s lucky to have you Brenna Kincaid.” He tugs her into a hug and kisses her forehead. She wrinkles her nose and shoves him away. 

“Thanks and by the way you smell….” she sniffs again, “Like… my brother?” Grinning up at him, she smirks. “Do you and Riley have something to share with us, because you know I’ve always wanted a brother-in-law….” She yelps as he pinches her ear and she sticks out her tongue at him. 

“He okay?”

“Your brother is fine.”

Brenna nods, trusting her alpha. “If you see him again, tell him he’s coming to Christmas dinner at my rooms and to make his eggnog. Drew boozes it up too much.”

She leaves the training room and heads over to her and Judd’s room. When she’s there she finds her mate stripping in the bathroom and grins. Perfect timing for shared showers.

-

“I can’t believe you told Hawke I put too much booze in my eggnog. I do not.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were making pies for Christmas dinner. I love baking.”

Brenna looks up from where she’s rolling dough to see Sienna and Drew stand, side by side, arms crossed, looking eerily alike, as they glare at her. 

“Did you two plan that?”

Drew and Sienna look at each other and shrug. “No.”

“A little,” Drew says, making all three of them laugh. When Sienna punches him, he feigns hurt and reaches over to steal one of the apple slices by Brenna. She slaps his hand away.

“You do put too much booze in the eggnog.”

“No such thing.”

“It is for Psy.”

Drew’s eyes widen for a second in realisation and he looks over to Sienna who nods and hops up to sit on the counter by behind Brenna. Drew frowns and leans against the counter. “Damn Psy,” he says, but it’s light and teasing and when Sienna tosses an apple slice his way he catches it with his mouth. 

“So wait, if Riley makes the booze free version, can I make the real and better version.”

Brenna thinks about this. Christmas without Drew’s terrible eggnog would be almost going against tradition. She looks over to Sienna who is placing the apple slices in a neat spiral for the pie. 

“Sure, Drew.”

“Awesome.”

“That all, you two?”

Sienna and Drew look at each other and yeah, definitely not all. 

-

She’s outside watching over Ben and Marlee, who are happily frockling in the light snow fall they were gifted last night when she feels two heavy presences approach them. Her wolf settles at the feeling of her big brother but also someone else who has that seem type of air around them. Brenna looks over her shoulder and smiles as Riley and Walker walk side by side towards her. From where she’s playing with Ben, who is currently in pup form, running around nipping at her heels, Marlee waves brightly to her father. 

“And hi, Riley! Are you coming to play with us?”

Ben yips brightly, running around Marlee in circles and his tag wagging. Brenna grins. 

What she wouldn’t give to see her big, sturdy, stubborn brother and Walker, who matches him in height and practically in width play with those two pups. She could probably sell tickets. 

“Not today, Marlee.” Walker’s voice always goes softer for his daughter. Brenna thinks of warm blankets and the feeling of being protected above all. She has not doubt in her mind that Walker wouldn’t turn the world upside for his daughter. After all, he already has. Her wolf approves. Her mate is the same. She loves him so much. 

Marlee pouts but there’s Ben nipping at her gloves and there they go again.

Brenna stands from her perch as Walker and Riley approach. She instinctively leans into her brother’s side. A similar feeling of warm and steadiness flowing through her. She smiles at them both. 

“You sure you don’t want to join us? We could have a snowball fight. Kincaid versus Lauren. And Ben, I'm sure he'd choose to be on Marlee's team.”

Riley chuckles. Walker’s cheek twitch. 

“Maybe another day, Bren.”

“So what’s up?”

Walker looks from his daughter to Brenna. “Sienna has spoken to me about your plans.”

“Drew said you might need some help.”

Brenna claps her hands together and kisses her brother on the cheek and touches Walker’s arm even though she would like to hug him. But they’re not there… yet.

She calls over her shoulder. “Marlee, we got two more helpers!”

Marlee’s face scrunches up cutely for a second and then she’s launching herself across the snow into her father’s arms. Walker picks her up effortless and swings her up to his hips. Brenna watches as Riley looks on at the interactions. She remembers another little girl who would do the same with him. They smile at each other. 

There’s yipping and little paws at her toe. Breena looks down and shakes her head at Ben. Crouching down to pick up the pup, she cuddles him, brushing the snow of hsi coat as he happily barks at Marlee’s ongoing commentary of all they have to do. 

-

She tells Judd to meet her at the entrance of the Den.

He does. He’s just come back from one of his meetings with his contact in the net and he smells and candle wax and a dusty old room. She doesn’t ask. He’s got some candles in his hand, the thick kind that smell of gingerbread and she reaches up to kiss him. 

“You remembered,” she murmurs against his lips, smiling as he tugs her closer. 

“They didn’t have the candy cane ones.”

Brenna laughs and drops back, hooking her arms around his waist. “This is more than fine. Come on, I have something to show you.”

Judd cocks an eyebrow but lets himself get lead. She twines their fingers together and swings their arms as the walk. She feels his mind brush along the edge of her. Nothing questioning, no words, just her mate letting her know he’s here with her, completely. Her wolf cozies up to the feel of her mate near. 

Brenna stops him outside their door. 

He looks down at her, his lips curving. 

She shakes her head. “You know who’s there, don’t you?”

Judd leans forward and kisses her, deep and soft. Brenna reaches up and curls her arms over his biceps. 

_Marlee and Ben are very excited, they’re projecting quite a bit._

_Ugh. I should have known._

He tugs her closer and nips at her mouth. “I love you.” _I love what you’ve done._

_I just wanted you to have a good Christmas. I want you to have good memories. You don’t have to like things because I do. You should like them because you do._

_I know, Brenna. And I love you._ He’s eyes look towards the door. _And I love our families. How did you bribe your brothers to come?_

She laughs and shoves him back. _You know they like you. And you like them, so wipe that smirk and act surprised._

Judd tugs her back, wrapping an arm around her waist, and kisses full on the mouth. Brenna groans, because the man is a menace. But he’s her menace and she loves him with her entire soul. 

When he pushes them inside, they’re still kissing and immediately the cat calls start. Brenna pokes his side and steps back, smacking his arm. _Tease_. Judd winks. 

“Surprise, Uncle Judd!” Marlee announce loud and cheerful, her arms wide as she presents Judd with their fully Christmas-fied rooms. The tree, thanks to Drew and Sienna, sits in one corner. The ornaments are a collection of homemade one Marlee, Toby, Sienna, and Brenna made, plus some from the Kincaid family collection. There’s dinner and pie and eggnog. 

And…

Toby steps up to them and hands them each a sweater. There’s a reindeer on it and it each is personally monogrammed. Brenna’s is years old, as are Drew and Riley’s. All the Laurens have brand new ones. It’s bright red with white lining. Judd looks at her and raises his eyebrows. Brenna sheds her jacket and slips her sweater on. 

“Come on, baby, it’s family tradition.”

Judd looks over to Walker, who only shrugs at his brother, in his own sweater. He sighs. Brenna bites her lip.

“Yeah, Judd, it’s just red. It won’t kill you not to wear black all the time,” Drew says, snickering and grabbing one of the cookies Marlee made. “Look, even The Wall has one.”

Riley sighs and slaps Drew outside the head. Sienna and Toby snicker. 

Judd laughs and shakes his head, shrugging the sweater on. It stretched deliciously over his shoulder. Brenna was not prepared for that. 

_I like the way your looks too, baby_.

She grins and tugs him forward. _Maybe later I’ll model it for you, and only it._

 _Tease._ He sends back, his arms wrapping around her shoulder. She rests her cheek on his chest just above his heart and she hears one more thing from him as Marlee takes command of the room and she and Sienna start setting up for dinner. _I think Christmas might become my favourite holiday._

Brenna smiles. 

Christmas really is her favourite holiday.


End file.
